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The UK doesn’t because our governments screw over small business people and provide incentives to large corporations. Here’s an example- There’s a scheme call

The UK doesn’t because our governments screw over small business people and provide incentives to large corporations. Here’s an example- There’s a scheme called Kickstart where if you hire 30 or more young people they’ll pay the company £1500 up front for each person and then will cover their wages up to minimum wage levels for 6 months. So a small business owner who would like to hire a developer to help me build an app gets nothing whereas a large consulting house or software company gets a large cash incentive if they hire 30 graduates in one time period if they have signed up to the scheme. That simply is the small business owner subsidising the large business owner through redirection of taxes. It’s stuff like this that has me counting down the days until I can leave this country.

smt88 6y ago
I don't know what makes you think Elon Musk was ever at the mercy of small-business incentive policy. His first exit was funded by friends and family (allegedly including his dad), raised money from investors, and then caught the lucky wave of hysteria in the Dotcom Bubble. After that, he didn't really need dribs and drabs of govt incentives. The main reasons startups are so prevalent in the US is that capital and customers are here.
- richliss 6y ago
  In the UK it's generally been that funding is decent once you're up and running but poor at the angel or earlier stages. So this tends to reinforce the class system in the UK as rich kids who are connected by going to private schools can obtain funding via various routes (including SEIS etc.) from rich friends and family whose capital gains are offset by the investments. These rich kids can fund a startup into potential angel/seed stages and if it fails all the money is written off against capital gains for their investors. I've met a few people who either worked as VC's or received good levels of early funding for their startups and they were either privately educated and connected or were Oxbridge educated. It's not everyone for sure but people at the top like to lend to people like themselves in the UK more often than not. The US is a pretty special market - 5 times the population of the UK with much more money per capita gives new businesses a large market to instantly go into and raise money against.
dazc 6y ago
Is this the same UK Govt that's currently throwing money at small businesses and guaranteeing 0% interest loans? I agree that Kickstart program does advantage bigger firms but are not these the firms who are more likely to provide worthwhile training and experience to youngsters rather than, to use your example, just to provide a bit free labour to app developers?
- richliss 6y ago
  Bounce back loans are an absolutely great way to enrich the banks who can offer them to their existing customers. If you're either banking with a bank that doesn't offer them or are a would-be new customer of the BBL providing banks you're out of luck. If there was guaranteed upskilling built into the deal I'd be ok with it but as there isn't it's just subsidized labour for large corporations. Don't get me wrong these schemes would have been great for all if they'd have been designed differently, as it is they're good for some whilst everyone subsides them.

smt88 6y ago

I don't know what makes you think Elon Musk was ever at the mercy of small-business incentive policy. His first exit was funded by friends and family (allegedly including his dad), raised money from investors, and then caught the lucky wave of hysteria in the Dotcom Bubble. After that, he didn't really need dribs and drabs of govt incentives. The main reasons startups are so prevalent in the US is that capital and customers are here.

richliss 6y ago
In the UK it's generally been that funding is decent once you're up and running but poor at the angel or earlier stages. So this tends to reinforce the class system in the UK as rich kids who are connected by going to private schools can obtain funding via various routes (including SEIS etc.) from rich friends and family whose capital gains are offset by the investments. These rich kids can fund a startup into potential angel/seed stages and if it fails all the money is written off against capital gains for their investors. I've met a few people who either worked as VC's or received good levels of early funding for their startups and they were either privately educated and connected or were Oxbridge educated. It's not everyone for sure but people at the top like to lend to people like themselves in the UK more often than not. The US is a pretty special market - 5 times the population of the UK with much more money per capita gives new businesses a large market to instantly go into and raise money against.

dazc 6y ago

Is this the same UK Govt that's currently throwing money at small businesses and guaranteeing 0% interest loans? I agree that Kickstart program does advantage bigger firms but are not these the firms who are more likely to provide worthwhile training and experience to youngsters rather than, to use your example, just to provide a bit free labour to app developers?

richliss 6y ago
Bounce back loans are an absolutely great way to enrich the banks who can offer them to their existing customers. If you're either banking with a bank that doesn't offer them or are a would-be new customer of the BBL providing banks you're out of luck. If there was guaranteed upskilling built into the deal I'd be ok with it but as there isn't it's just subsidized labour for large corporations. Don't get me wrong these schemes would have been great for all if they'd have been designed differently, as it is they're good for some whilst everyone subsides them.